


By the blood

by Wapwani



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), dragon queen - Fandom
Genre: AU, F/F, it's pretty dark - even for me, the violence isn't graphic but it's there, vampire-esque
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-08 09:03:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11078364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wapwani/pseuds/Wapwani
Summary: The Dragon Queen vampire AU. Dark and bloody, and stuffed with complicated relationships and quite a lot of love.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this one on tumblr ages ago. Finally getting around to collecting all the parts over here in one place.

The Queen swept out into the courtyard. The moonlight shone down on the cobblestones and glittered coldly off the sharp edges of her soldiers’ weapons; their spears and arrows were tipped with silver, as though to say, ‘See, we fear nothing. Not even ourselves’.

She walked alone, needing no accompaniment, fearing no attack. Not here and not now, not behind her high stone walls and with the moon shining down on her. Her men were gathered before her, their heads bowed, saving her Captain, who stood with her back straight and her eyes fixed on the Queen as she strode confidently along the uneven ground. It was a mark of the Queen’s power that half her guard stood before her on two feet.

The Queen’s beautiful mouth was twisted into a cold smile of triumph. Her enemy had been brought to ground, held trapped by magic in the form of the beast. The dragon thrashed under the bite of the steel net, but could gain no purchase to tear itself free.

The Captain saluted as the Queen drew near, dropping to one knee and baring her throat.

“Rise,” Regina said shortly. “Report.”

“We captured the dragon, but at some cost. And the others, they escaped in the melee.”

“It is no matter. They won’t go far. Snow will never abandon this fight.”

She stepped closer to the dragon; the beast strained and snapped ineffectually at the steel that held it. Regina laughed and sent forth a blast of magic that wrapped around the dragon. She could feel the beast fight her power, trying to resist the insistence of her spell, but it could not deny her; the dragon was powerful, but the Queen was more so.

The beast writhed and screeched, its body rippled and bubbled, like a pot of thick porridge coming to boil. Then in a flash of light, the dragon disappeared leaving a woman standing in its place. She was tall and fair, her eyes an icy blue.

Regina stepped forward, unconsciously licking her lips.

“Maleficent,” she breathed, her voice hungry.

The fair-haired witch surged forward; no longer held by the net, she was able to transport herself to stand directly in front of Regina. The Queen threw her hands up, her magic coming instinctively to her defense. They battled as witches do, with power flaring between them and errant bits of magic ricocheting off to either crash harmlessly into wood and stone, or slam with killing force into any unlucky bystander who hadn’t thought to duck for cover.

 

Maleficent managed to get close enough to Regina that she was able to wrap a hand around her throat. She stared into the eyes of the woman who had once been her lover, and for just a moment she saw her looking back at her. She could feel Regina still in there, under the weight of the hunger that had driven her mad. The sting of hope made her uncautious, made her falter, stopped her hand from ripping Regina’s throat out. It was a grievous error, one she would come to regret for too many years after.

For the roaring hunger swept back into the Queen’s eyes, burying any hint of the woman she had once been. Her magic strengthened, fueled by the force of her madness. Maleficent felt it clutch at her; no matter what she did, she could not shake its hold. She was forced to her knees.

Regina’s laugh was short but cruel.

“Foolish, Maleficent. To throw your life away on such an ill-advised gamble. And you, the last of your kind.”

 

 

Maleficent may have been foolish, but she was not unwise. She used the seconds the Queen paused in gloating to bury her memories. Memories of her child, a little girl with hair and eyes as dark as Regina’s and who carried within her the potential for magic to rival them both.

Snow and her band of minions were carrying her daughter away, where she did not know; that was the only protection she could give her now, to know nothing of her, not her name nor where she was headed. It was dangerous enough that Maleficent knew the baby even existed; so she took that knowledge and hid it deep, deep in her mind, behind other memories that hopefully were too painful for Regina to delve into. Let Regina think Maleficent was the last witch with the power to shift her shape; let her think she would never see another dragon fly; then one day, when the child returned seeking vengeance for her mother, let Regina be taken unawares.

Regina stepped towards Maleficent, where she knelt shivering on the cobblestones. The Captain had returned to Regina’s side.

“What shall we do with her, your Majesty? Fire or steel to end her life?”

“Neither,” Regina snarled. “She is still a dragon, still nigh-immortal. She will feed me for a long time.”

And she opened her mouth to let her fangs descend.

 

Maleficent took a shuddering breath, felt her head move without her willing it so that her neck curved, awaiting the Queen’s bite. The stab of teeth piercing her flesh was a sharp, bright pain. Maleficent gasped and writhed even though she was held by the Queen’s spell. She felt her life’s blood flow from her, and felt something else flow back in. Something that spread through her body like a wildfire burning through dry undergrowth. It was a tether that would bind her to the Queen, she could feel it wind through and around her and hold her still. She felt her conscious mind sink away from her; she realised that she could still sense her own thoughts, but removed and alien, like walking across a frozen pond and seeing the fish swim under the ice. She belonged to the Queen now.

Regina straightened, delicately wiping away the drops of blood that dotted the corners of her mouth. She released Maleficent from the grip of her magic. The fair witch transformed, curling in on herself and expanding outwards into the dragon.

The Captain shouted a warning, reaching out to grab the Queen and drag her back. But Regina just laughed and stood firm while the dragon spread its wings and leaped into the night sky.

“Your Majesty!” the Captain cried, “We shall pursue!”

“No need, Red,” the Queen replied, almost gently for her. “She is mine now. She will return before the dawn.”

 

Dragons were creatures of light and fire. But the monster that had taken Regina, and turned her, was a creature of the night and dark. And so the Queen had become such a creature too. No longer could she walk under the sun; she could only know the light of the moon now. But Regina’s power over the night, and over the blood that flowed through her soldiers’ veins, was absolute; so absolute that even the werewolves would not turn under the full moon unless she allowed it.

Maleficent knew all this, knew that she had now become just another of Regina’s creatures. Knew that even though she was flying hard and fast away from the castle, she could only go so far. The tether that bound her to the Queen would draw tight if she went too far, or for too long. And she would turn back, back towards the castle and the woman who waited for her there. The woman she had once loved. The woman to whom she was now nothing but a meal.

 

 

Red watched Maleficent fly away.

“Is this wise, your Majesty? She is still a dragon. The villages will not be safe.”

“What do I care if she takes a few sheep?” Regina snarled. “Let the people know a dragon has come. And that I am the only one who can control her.”

She laughed unpleasantly. She had power enough to spare, but there was no harm in her subjects being given yet another example of how completely their lives belonged to her.

“Have you fed enough, your Majesty?” Red asked.

Regina frowned. She could still feel the warmth of the dragon’s blood coursing through her veins; her thoughts sparkled and danced, and the tips of her fingers tingled. It was an unusual sensation, but one that she found appealing. Even the wolf’s blood, powerful as the young woman was, had not had the same effect on her.

“Jealous, pup?” she asked airily. “Do you miss the sting of your Queen’s bite?”

“Majesty.” She flushed angrily but lowered her gaze.

Regina found it in herself to be magnanimous.

“I prefer you like this, pup. With a little fight in you still.”

It was true that the more she fed on a person, the more mindless they become, until they may as well have been sheep.

Maleficent was powerful, and Regina decided that she would have to feed often on her, to keep her docile and under control. Her Captain on the other hand, she did not want too docile. She needed the person who led her soldiers to be able to think for herself just a little.

Perhaps a small sip then, just enough to remind the wolf of her place.

“Come,” Regina ordered, turning back to the castle.

She did not have to look to know the wolf followed.

 

Maleficent would return just as the first fingers of dawn light began to peek over the horizon. She would land in the courtyard and transform into her human form. She would watch as the staff scurried to get the castle ready for the beating light of the sun. The soldiers would be changing shifts, patrols going out to oversee the villages, the kitchens would be filled with steam and heat. Everything would be as one would expect for the start of the day.

Within the castle though, the Queen would be preparing herself for sleep. Her chambers were now located deep within the keep, windowless and lit only by guttering candles.

Maleficent would go to her there, drawn to her side by the pull of the tether that Regina had woven into her blood. She would not see the sun rise; the light of day was lost to her now. She would climb naked into the Queen’s bed, curling around her and baring her neck so that she could feed. She would feel again that pull that tied her to Regina, that would keep her by the sleeping Queen’s side through the dull hours of the day.

They would lie together, the Queen tucked against Maleficent’s side. It would be a grotesque imitation of the way they had once slept, when they were lovers, before Regina had fallen prey to the monster that had turned her into the dark creature driven by a hunger to feed on the blood of others.

Maleficent would close her eyes and watch the bright flashes of her thoughts, her true self still battling to stay alive under the hold of the binding of the blood. It was a lonely, exhausting fight.

 

Perhaps she would have felt better about it if she had known that, as she slept, Regina lay besides her fighting the same battle.


	2. Chapter 2

When you are virtually immortal, the years seem to crawl by at a blinding pace. They stretch out, maddening in their tediousness, but then you blink and suddenly you realise a decade has passed.

Maleficent knew this already, but it was a lesson that Regina had only started to learn – _could_ only start to learn – after she had been turned into a dark creature who fed on the blood and misery of others. A creature who did not age, or experience the passage of time, in the same way as a mortal would.

The monster who turned her had been ancient but had looked young and fresh; the only indication of the great age they had lived were their eyes – dark and sunken and dead.

Every day rise, Regina would stand before her mirror and see how the light in her eyes had dimmed a little further.

Then Maleficent would come, snappish and irritated because yet again the binding in her blood had called her to Regina’s heel and she had to comply. Regina would take great pleasure in making the dragon kneel before her and present her neck. She’d stretch out the moment before she’d bite, the anticipation coiling low and heavy in her belly. It reminded her of the nights she’d lain in Maleficent’s bed, naked and writhing as her lover had teased and drawn out her pleasure until she had almost screamed her need.

She’d wait as long as she could, until her fists clenched and her mouth watered with the thought of taking her fill of Maleficent’s rich blood. Her fangs would descend and she would bite and the warmth would flood her. She’d shake with the intensity of it, moaning against Maleficent’s skin. She’d feel the dragon tremble under her touch and it would make her want to bite again, to keep sucking until she had virtually drained her, until Maleficent collapsed boneless at her feet.

Some days she did go that far. But more often she’d stop short, leaving the dragon dazed and unsteady but still able to stand on her own feet. Either way, when Regina was sated, with Maleficent’s blood pumping through her veins making her thrum with life and power, she’d bring the dragon to her bed. This routine did not vary, no matter how Maleficent snarled and no matter how angry and discontent Regina had been before she fed, the Queen would take the dragon to her bed.

Maleficent would invariably fall asleep first.

Regina would lie awake, her mind sparking. She’d brush magic into Maleficent’s skin, healing the bite marks and bruises her feeding left behind. She’d lay her head against Maleficent’s chest so she could hear her heartbeat, steady and slow. She’d watch her own thoughts dance. She’d try to catch hold of them so she could examine them more closely. She’d listen to herself scream. That small part of herself that still lived, under the hunger that gnawed constantly, the part of Regina that was still her.

After she’d fed on Maleficent, the hunger was quieted for a few hours at least, and she was able to remember who and what she had been. But that was all she could do – hold the memory of herself close to the surface of her mind. And she’d scream because then she could see clearly who and what she had become.

By night fall she would be cold again, her true self sinking back under the dark thirst. Maleficent would leave; she would storm out into the courtyard, transform into the dragon and fling herself into the air, her great wings straining to carry her away as quickly as possible. Regina would let her go, knowing that she would return.

Regina would leave her chambers to receive homage from her wolf guard and palace staff; a different company would line up before her every night, kneeling so they could present their necks to her. She’d merely snack on them, taking only a taste from each wolf and mortal - just enough so that she could reinforce the binding in their blood. Her true feeding would come at day rise, when the dragon would return.

 

“Is this wise, your Majesty?” her Captain asked, the young wolf still loyal despite being under the lightest of controls. “Relying only on the dragon to feed?”

“Your jealousy grows tiresome,” Regina snarled. “I have no need for you to sustain me.”

It was not the need she lacked, but the desire. No one tasted like Maleficent; no one else came close to filling her veins with the same fire.

She took just enough from Red to keep the woman compliant, to silence her arguments of ‘risk’ and ‘safety’. Then she sent her off on patrol and turned to the task of ruling her subjects.

The whiny, mewling, needy mortals that they were.

Regina had not been born to be a queen, but she had risen to the throne regardless. She had taken her duties very seriously. And while her understanding of what it meant to be queen had changed somewhat after she had been turned, she still sat in the throne every night and governed.

It was hard to be interested in the individual sheep who came before her, with their petty requests and fears. Mortals faded so quickly, the years weighing so heavily on them, they seemed to wither before her eyes almost as she watched. The Minister who had been a vital man yesterday, today was wizened and bent, quavering his questions in a dried up old voice. It could be argued she was doing these mortals a service when she ordered their deaths for bothering her with mindless, boring, problems.

Other realms tried to rise against her. (But never the woman she looked for – though Regina waited, Snow had not shown her hand since the night Maleficent had been captured). When reports of a new attack came, Regina would sigh and order her packs of werewolves to rip through the ill-prepared armies that marched towards her borders. Or she’d unleash Maleficent, the dragon held in thrall to her word by the binding in her blood. Her dragon would rain fire down on her enemies, and return to the castle at day rise, with fury buried in her eyes.

 

It had been some years now since any mortal ruler had dared to attack her. The Queen grew bored and restless; soon she would have to spread out into the world, seeking other prey. She felt a new hunger growing in her, the hunger to turn someone, to create something that would last longer than a heartbeat of time.

She spoke to Maleficent of this new hunger. The dragon scoffed.

“Will you turn me, Regina? Make a dragon that hungers like you do? Will you suck the entire world dry?”

In her fury, she had almost drained the dragon. But she felt Maleficent’s heart stutter, felt the flow of blood slow, and she pulled back. Her fangs were still extended, dripping with the dragon’s blood, while she poured magic into Maleficent to save her.

She could not let the dragon die.

Maleficent was the last warm thing in the world.

She could not lose her.

 

As Maleficent healed, Regina heard her heartbeat grow stronger and surer. She’d fallen asleep with that welcome sound in her ear.

Only to be rudely awakened by loud shouting.

There was someone in her chambers, and she gave leave for no one but Maleficent to be here.

It was still day, she could sense the sunlight in the air even this far behind closed stone walls.

There were two wolves in her rooms – one a young man with the brash voice calling for her to wake.

She’d ripped his throat out and drained him before she’d truly heard what he was saying.

“Majesty!” the other cried as her companion’s lifeless body hit the floor. “Please!”

“Red?” The Queen’s mind was groggy with sleep, but the fresh blood she’d just consumed was helping her wake. She looked around her chambers. Maleficent was only now sitting up. She looked surprised, as though she did not expect to wake still in her body, but she seemed unharmed.

“What is the reason for this interruption?” Regina’s fangs were still bared, the threat kept in open sight.

“Please, Majesty. A dragon. A dragon was sighted.”

“There lies your dragon!” Regina shouted, pointing towards Maleficent.

“No, your Majesty. In the broad light of day, under the sun. A dragon.”

“Impossible! All the dragons are gone! Bring me the person who peddles this lie. I will have their heart for my breakfast!’

“I saw it, Majesty. With my own eyes. It was not Maleficent. This dragon was green, not purple. I saw it come over the sea.”

“Impossible.” The fire had gone out of her voice. Red was loyal beyond question.

“I think an army follows,” Red said quietly.

Regina stiffened.

At last. Something interesting.

“Summon your packs, Captain. Call them back to the castle. Let us see what this dragon brings to us.”

If this truly was a dragon-led army, Regina wanted to meet it with her castle walls at her back, under the cold light of the moon.

 

When they were alone again, Red having hauled the dead wolf away, Regina turned to Maleficent.

The dragon had climbed out of bed. She was no longer unsteady on her feet, but she kept touching her neck, seeking for the wound that was no longer there.

“Who is this dragon?” Regina demanded.

“I do not know her name,” Maleficent answered. “I do not know where she is coming from.”

It was an odd phrasing, but it was the truth. She would know if the dragon was lying.

But something in Maleficent’s eye, a faint kindling of hope, made Regina persist.

“Is this your doing, Maleficent?”

The dragon laughed bitterly.

“How could it possibly be? For nearly three decades now, I have spent every day here, at your side. Wishing I could tear your heart out and crush it!”

“It would do you no good,” Regina pointed out evenly. “My heart hasn’t beat in my breast for longer than you have been mine.”

There was confusion in Maleficent’s face.

“But how…I hear it beat. When you sleep.”

“Impossible,” Regina said, suddenly afraid. “That was taken from me, when I was turned. I am the bloodless one. My heart has stilled.”

“Not so bloodless perhaps, when you feed on a dragon,” Maleficent snarled.

Maleficent had thought her words would be an ineffectual attack – she had nothing left in her arsenal to fling at Regina but sarcasm and coldness. But the Queen recoiled as though the dragon had struck a telling blow.

For the creature Regina had become, a beating heart was a weakness. It meant that something could still reach your heart to breathe life back into it. And if your heart lived, you could die.

Red had been correct. She should never have made the dragon her sole source of sustenance. Something in Maleficent’s blood was making her weak.

Once she had defeated this new dragon, she would ensure she would not feed from Maleficent again.

 

The battle was a long and bloody one.

The army did come following a green dragon. But this dragon was young and inexperienced. Her flame was erratic and she tired easily. Every time Regina sent Maleficent into the air, the green dragon would withdraw, returning to the safety of the ground behind her army. Flaming arrows would drive Maleficent back to Regina’s castle, and then it would be back to the wolves and men, hacking each other to pieces in the open ground.

Regina couldn’t remember the last time she had been so pleased, or so well entertained.

Her scouting wolves reported that it was Snow leading this army. Her old enemy had finally returned. Truly old now, with silver streaks running through her once-dark hair. The scouts also said a young knight fought bravely at her side; a woman, fair-haired, tall and strong, with green eyes. The looks of her father, the tenacity of her mother. Regina gave Red the task of bringing that knight down.

“Bring me her heart,” Regina snarled at her Captain.

She set her wolf on Snow’s daughter, and Maleficent against her green dragon, and she waited for victory.

But midnight came, and still Snow’s army refused to yield.

Regina could not afford to wait, she wanted to see her enemies defeated and Snow and the green dragon in her thrall before the sun rose, forcing her to withdraw.

So she took to the field.

She went on foot, and she went unarmed.

She heard her wolves howl their warning, heard Snow cry out, and heard the beat of wings overhead as the green dragon swept down to attack.

The Queen struck, sending forth a stream of magic that glowed pale purple in the moonlight; this was the magic that had once brought the far-more-powerful Maleficent crashing to earth. The green dragon fell.

She landed in a heap, thudding into the ground and skidding along the torn up earth of the battlefield. Bones snapped and wings tore. Regina struck again, before she had fully come to rest. Her magic wrapped around the dragon, forcing the transformation.

She heard screams, cries of anguish from Snow’s lines. She knew she had only moments to act before Snow’s knight was on her.

The green dragon transformed into a woman, dark-haired and bleeding from the damage of her fall. She cradled her arm to her chest, groaning as she tried to roll to her feet. Even now, she still fought. Regina felt respect twist in her chest. This woman was brave and strong.

She would feed her well.

She leapt, her fangs descending. She pushed the woman back into the ground, pulling her dark hair back to expose her throat. She could feel the strange witch’s magic – so much power! But ill-trained. She wasn’t able to push Regina back or deflect her attack.

Regina lowered her head and bit into the dragon’s neck. Hot blood filled her mouth.

 

Love is a strange thing. It can feel like the most powerful energy under the sun. It feels like it can shake the very foundations of the world. But for all its intensity, love is fleeting and easily lost. When it burns, it can light the darkness for miles. When it fades, it leaves only blackness and ash.

True love however, that is a different beast.

You could bury true love under a mountain of stone. It would still burn. You could attack it with decades of torment and torture, thinking you had destroyed it. But it would still burn. There was no wisdom in true love – it did not think, or calculate, or weigh. It just was. Unchanging.

For nearly thirty years, Regina had fed on Maleficent, binding the dragon to her by blood. She had nourished herself with the strength of the dragon. But she had forgotten that when a dragon loves, that love is true. Even though Maleficent hated what the Queen had become, she still loved the woman Regina had been. Every mouthful Regina had taken of Maleficent’s blood had bound a little more of the dragon’s love to her; had warmed her heart and made it beat; had given her the strength to remember her true self.

But Maleficent had more than one true love.

Even though she did not know her, Maleficent loved her daughter too.

And by feeding on Maleficent, so did Regina.

 

When she took the green dragon’s blood, it burned like she’d drunk poison.

Her body knew it for what it was. She was bound to it, as surely as she had bound Maleficent to her.

Regina recoiled, retching into the earth. But it was too late. You could not destroy true love. No matter how hard the dark power in her fought back, she could not harm this woman.

She was on her knees, helpless and defenseless. Her wolves were too far away. She could summon no magic. In fact, she felt her power unravel. As her blood burned, she felt the bindings she had woven snap. Wolves and mortals and one powerful dragon, all released from her hold.

Regina heard Maleficent scream, a triumphant celebration howled to the moon. She bowed her head and waited for death.

She remembered enough of herself to welcome it. After all she had done, she deserved to die. Even if, in this moment, she was no longer quite the monstrous creature she had become.

The fair-haired knight reached her first.

Her sword was sharp and bright. She raised it to strike.

A blast of magical power wrenched the weapon from her hand.

Maleficent was there, materialising besides Regina out of thin air.

“Wait,” the dragon’s voice was soft and pleading. “Please. Please wait. She may have broken it. She may be free.”

Regina felt the dragon kneel beside her, felt her hands, gentle on her face, turning her so she could look into Maleficent’s eyes. There was no fury there now. There was wariness, but also hope.

“Regina?”

She shook her head. “You should let me die, Mal.”

“No.”

Her dragon had always been stubborn.

“It’s not over, Mal. I still hunger. You have to let her kill me. Take my head. Stake my heart. Burn my body. Whatever it takes to stop me.”

“Regina.”

She turned towards the new voice.

“Snow.”

“You feel remorse? For what you have done?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then there is hope.”

“But I still hunger!” Regina wailed.

“So you’ll feed,” Maleficent said. “On me. That seems to help, doesn’t it?”

Snow sighed and extended a hand to Regina.

“You are not the enemy, Regina. Whoever made you, that is who we must find, and stop. And if we have managed to free _you_ , then I have hope we can save others.”

“Your mindless hope will doom you all,” Regina snarled.

“Perhaps,” Snow said. “Perhaps I will yet die on a battlefield somewhere, fighting evil. I am offering you the chance to die fighting beside me Regina, not standing against me. What do you say?”

Regina sighed, she bowed her head in defeat. But then she reached out to grasp Snow’s hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. She stood between them, with the woman who had been her lover on one side, and the woman who had been her friend on the other.

The fair-haired knight - Snow’s daughter - was by the other dragon’s side, binding her broken arm. Red and some of her wolves had formed a protective circle around the group of five women. Regina could hear angry shouting beyond the circle - cries of ‘burn the witch!’ and 'give her to us!’.

“The people of this realm may take a little more convincing,” Maleficent said drily, “than those of us who know you best.”

“I can hardly blame them,” Regina muttered.

“You want to make amends? Kill the monster that turned you. There are others who aren’t as strong as you. If you kill the maker, they will all be free.”

Regina searched her mind. When she had drunk the green dragon’s blood, all her bindings had been severed - those she had woven into others, and those that the one who turned her had woven into her. She could still feel the hunger, but it was a dull ache now, no longer the all-consuming need that haunted her every moment. Her true self stood unwavering, ashamed but strong.

Snow and Maleficent’s daughters watched her warily. But their mothers were smiling at her, with love and hope shining in their eyes.

Regina nodded.

“Very well.” She smiled, a fearsome sight to behold. “Let’s hunt.”


	3. Chapter 3

They were on a ship. This was how Snow had survived the decades in exile. She had a fleet, cobbled together at first from the battered remnants of her father’s navy, but strengthened and grown over the years as she had forged alliances. She had found refuge in unchartered waters, making harbour on an island that only handfuls of sailors had ever heard of. Her fleet sailed under a pure white flag, and Snow had become known as the Ice Queen – cold and ruthless in battle, to betray her was to die.

Her only child, her daughter Emma, stood always at her right hand. Emma carried her father’s sword on her hip and bore a shield inlaid with an image of a bird – her mother’s royal symbol – picked out in ivory. The Swan Knight they called her, and she was as ruthless as her mother, and as skilled a warrior as her father had been. Her mother’s enemies would cry out in fear when they saw Emma’s flag – a white swan on a stormy grey background – unfurl over a battlefield.

Emma’s closest companion was the witch, Lily – the last surviving witch of her kind, or so she had been told. Lily and Emma had grown up together, had been raised to be warriors, honed into weapons of vengeance, although Lily’s magical training had been piecemeal and sporadic.

Thirty years in exile. Thirty years preparing for battle against a terrifying foe. Thirty years of Lily being told that the Bloodless One had killed her mother; thirty years of Emma hearing that her destiny was to rid the world of the Evil Queen and win back her rightful throne. Thirty years in preparation for one epic confrontation.

And that confrontation had ended in Regina’s liberation, in meeting a mother Lily had thought dead, and in the forging of a new alliance.

Emma and Lily were still reeling from the unexpected outcomes of their battle when they had boarded Snow’s ship, the Bow, and set sail to hunt their new target.

 

It had been a shock for Lily, to learn that her mother lived. It was even more bewildering to discover that her mother loved the monster who had held her captive, and that in some way, this love had saved Lily from a similar fate.

There had been no time to allow the young dragon to come to an acceptance on her own, or to give her the chance to realise that Regina may be deserving of understanding, if not forgiveness. Snow did not know how much time they had to prepare before they would face the ancient evil who had turned Regina. What she could be sure of was they needed all the power they could gather. Lily was powerful but ill-trained. Regina was a witch of immense power who had spent her youth studying magic. Snow ordered Lily to learn from Regina, and though the young dragon had reacted with horror at the idea, she had obeyed her Queen.

While the sun shone down on the blue sea, Lily would take flying lessons with her mother.

When the sun set and Regina could emerge on to the deck, Lily would return to the ship and try to put her hatred aside for long enough to learn something.

They’d face off against each other, Regina holding her own power in check as she tested the limits of Lily’s, trying to show her how to channel and use her magic efficiently.

 

“Control,” Regina said, “is vital. You are filled with rage. That is good. You can use that, but only if you can control it.”

“The rage comes easily when I look at you,” Lily hissed, flinging a ball of green fire at Regina’s head.

She batted it away with a lazy movement, sighing.

“Your words have more heat than this pathetic attempt, Lily. Channel your rage. It does you no good burning like an undisciplined wild fire. Focus. Like this.”

Regina called fire into her palm, the orange and yellow flames shining brightly in darkening evening light. She shaped the fire, first making a smooth round ball, then pouring it from hand to hand like a river of molten heat.

Lily snarled, gestured harshly with both hands, and created a sheet of green flames that she sent flying towards Regina.

Regina’s own flames leapt and grew, making a shield that the green fire battered harmlessly again.

Regina laughed in delight.

“That is so much better, Lily!”

“Not _so_ well done. You’re still alive,” Lily spat.

“Enough, Lily.” A new voice. Maleficent had come up from below decks to watch the magic lessons. “You will not speak to her that way.”

Lily turned on her mother.

“What, is it time to feed already?”

“Be civil, Lily.”

“How can you let her treat you like cattle?”

“This is my choice, daughter.”

Lily’s laugh was bitter and mirthless. “My choice is to not stand by and watch you be prey!”

“Then leave.”

“Fine!” She stormed off towards the ladder that led up to the quarter deck, but paused with her foot on the lowest rung. “Until morning?” she asked uncertainly.

“Yes,” Maleficent said equanimously, “We’ll try barrel rolls tomorrow. Those are fun.”

Lily nodded curtly and climbed up the ladder to where she knew Emma would be waiting for her, watching the horizon for any sign of an approaching enemy.

“Are you all right?” Maleficent asked, approaching Regina carefully.

Regina shrugged. “She has a right to hate me.”

“We should tell her,” Maleficent said softly, a note of pleading in her voice. This was an old argument now.

“What good will that possibly do?” There was no heat to her voice; they were simply retreading ground they had covered often enough already. “She is still learning to be with you, Mal. Let’s not confuse matters further.”

Maleficent sighed. “One day, we will tell her. Will you give me that at least?”

Regina smiled ruefully. “Yes, Mal. One day. When I have redeemed myself, when I am worthy of her. Then I’ll let you tell her that we made her together, you and I. But not before. You are the mother she deserves to have.”

“It’s late,” Maleficent said, raising her hand to cup Regina’s cheek gently. “You should feed.”

Regina started back from Maleficent’s touch.

“I can wait. Tomorrow-“

“Regina. You need to feed.”

Maleficent took Regina’s hand and led her towards the ladder. Regina’s cabin was below decks. It had no windows. It was small and cramped and smelled of salt and damp and old wood. She could have changed it with magic, made it comfortable and welcoming, but Regina was still punishing herself and her cabin remained unaltered.

So Mal took Regina to her own cabin – where she knew the air was fresher and the bed softer to sleep on and the sheets free of mould. She sat on the bed, drawing Regina to stand between her legs, and tilted her head back, offering Regina the curve of her throat.

Regina demurred and resisted, but Mal growled.

“You have to feed, Regina. I don’t want your hunger driving you mad again.”

Mal heard Regina sigh, and the soft click of her fangs descending. Then there was the familiar sting of sweet pain as Regina pierced her neck and began to suck. Mal couldn’t prevent the moan and the shivers that shuddered through her as Regina’s mouth worked against her skin. Regina was not binding her, was not sending any magical tether into Mal’s body; her mind was left clear as Regina fed, and she could feel her strength ebb a little as the blood left her body.

Regina’s body grew warmer, and Mal felt her fingers curl around her the back of her neck and clench and pull on her hair. She moaned again, shifting so she could make her throat more readily accessible. Regina pulled back, her fangs disappearing slowly up into her mouth. Her eyes were glazed over and she blinked in the dim candlelight.

“You’ve not fed enough,” Mal said, her words stumbling over a tongue thickened by a strange mix of desire and numbness.

“I have. Enough.” Regina’s voice was slurred too.

Mal growled, “Stop lying, Regina. You need this. You need me. Take me.”

“I can’t. I shouldn’t.” Regina shook her head blearily. “I’ll get Red. She’s willing.”

“Red can’t give you what I do,” Mal said shortly.

She really shouldn’t be prideful about this, but she was proud – proud that her blood meant something to Regina that no other’s could; Regina was always calmer and more sated, more her old self, after she fed on Maleficent.

“I’ve taken too much from you already,” Regina pleaded. Thirty years too much. Thirty years and a daughter.

“We need you sane and in control, Regina. Put your guilt aside. Focus on what must be done. You’re weaker without me, you can’t deny that. And we need you to be strong. We need you, Regina. And you need me. So, feed.”

She curved her neck, and Regina growled, low and feral. Her fangs descended again and she bent over Mal, curling her arms around her shoulders so she could angle her properly, and bit into the warm flesh that thrummed so hotly under her mouth. Mal’s moans only spurred her on this time.

 

Mal and Regina stood on the deck. The moon shone down on the dark water, sparkling off the curling tops of the waves. There was a gentle breeze, enough of a wind to fill their sails. The canvas flapped softly and the planks and masts creaked a little, but other than that, the night was silent. 

They were standing against the railing at the prow, as though daring whatever was waiting for them to draw closer faster. Regina felt her fangs itch with her hunger. She leaned against Mal; they'd go below decks soon enough, and Mal would talk her into feeding again. And then they'd fall asleep in Mal's bed. That's all they'd do together - feed and sleep. She sensed that Mal would welcome a return to their old relationship, when they had spent their nights wrapped in each others bodies, lost in pleasure and words of love. 

But if Regina had not yet been able to forgive herself enough to allow clean sheets and clear air, she certainly wasn't ready to accept the dragon's love. It was bad enough that she could not refuse her blood. She had no right to Mal's affection, or her heart.

She put all those thoughts aside for now though, and strained her senses to hear her daughter's voice.

Soon after Regina had been freed from the curse in her blood, Mal had told her that Lily was her child too - that their magic and lovemaking had combined in such a way that Mal had been left pregnant. Regina reacted with shocked despair. The guilt she felt about taking Mal was crushing enough, and now she had to contend with hurting their child too. She had no right to Lily, could make no claim on her. And Lily did not need the additional pain of knowing Regina was her mother. So she had begged Mal to stay silent.

But she could not deny her heart, the heart that even when it did not beat steadily in her chest, was heavy with shame, alive with yearning. While she taught Lily all she knew about magic, she would watch her, covertly memorising her face and the lilt of her voice and the rare smile (those were never for her - Lily smiled for Emma and Mal and not many else). 

Regina's observations had made it clear to her that Lily and Emma were close; she had seen how Emma would stand besides Lily, alert to anything that may harm her. How they would touch - a hand curling over fingers, or trailing down an arm. She noticed the way Lily would light up when she climbed to the quarter deck after their lessons. How she'd stand besides Emma, their voices melding into one gentle susurration of sound as they talked for hours, until Lily finally made her way to her cabin, leaving Emma to her watch.

Regina knew what love looked like, and she saw it when her daughter looked at Emma.

She supposed she should be glad. Emma was David's daughter after all, and would be honourable and steadfast in her love. And she was Snow's daughter too, so she would be loyal to a fault. But Regina could not stop herself from being concerned for her daughter's happiness. From wanting to know that she would be safe by the Swan Knight's side.

So before she fed tonight, while the hunger glowed in her eyes and left her voice tinged with madness, she approached Snow's daughter.

"You and Lily," she said.

"What of it?" Emma stiffened, her hand automatically searching for the sword she did not carry on board ship, where she thought she was among friends.

"You will not hurt her," Regina said. 

It was an order, but Emma took it as a challenge.

"I have no intention of doing so."

"Good. Keep it that way, and you and I will be great friends. Break her heart, and I will claw yours from your chest and crush it before your eyes."

Emma glanced at Maleficent, who stood silently in the shadows below.

"I would have thought her mother would be the one to warn me."

Regina shrugged, smiling in the moonlight so Emma could see her teeth. She had not dropped her fangs, but her smile was no less deadly for it.

"I've always been kinder than Maleficent. I believe in giving fair warning."

"Your warning has been heard, Bloodless One. And perhaps I would be afraid, if I had any doubt of the feeling between Lily and I. Not that it is any concern of yours."

Oh yes, she was Snow and David's daughter all right. Brave and foolish all at once.

Regina smiled again, but this time the curve of her mouth was soft, almost plaintive, as she remembered a young Snow and the friendship that had once existed between them.

When she fell asleep in Mal's arms tonight, there were tears on her cheeks.

 

The fleet split up and regrouped, moving between islands and along mainlands as the wolves tracked others like Regina, men and women who had been turned into creatures of the night driven mad by their hunger. Sometimes they'd have success. They'd find a nest, and Mal and Regina would swoop in, with Emma and Lily coming up in the rear. They'd use fire to flush the bloodless ones out, they'd try to find the maker, and stake them out to meet the rising sun. 

They freed several people from the curse that way, but not enough. They never found the ancient one, the one who had turned Regina, the maker of makers. The Deathless One they called him, for he had lived for so long it was believed he had forgotten how to die. If they did kill him, they would free hundreds. Possibly thousands. But though they hunted far and wide, they could not find him.

Emma was on watch when she spotted the signal from the shore. The wolves had found something, and were calling for a transport. Emma sent out a tender, manned by some of her best soldiers, to bring the wolves in.

They returned with a captive, her dress and demeanour marking her as a soldier. She wore a thick leather coat of reds and greens, quilted and reinforced with metal rings. Her black hair was held up in a tight bun, and her skin was darkened by exposure to the sun. 

Red laid a long narrow sword, and a long bow and quiver full of arrows at Regina's feet.

"We found her," Red reported. "The rest of her group are dead. But she hunts the same thing we do."

The soldier watched Regina warily.

"You are a bloodless one," she said abruptly.

"We hunt the same thing you do," Red reminded her, irritated. "My Queen will destroy the ancient evil. If we can find it."

Regina smiled at Red's passion. She nodded at the solider.

"When we find him, I will end him. Can you help us?"

The soldier shrugged. "We were tracking a report - it led us to this coastline in search of a ship. Then we were set upon by creatures that could fly. My captain is dead. My compatriots are dead. But my quest lives on. If you are seeking to destroy this evil, then I will fight alongside you. If you will have me."

"She fought well," Red said. "She could be useful."

"Very well," Regina leaned forward, "Tell us what you know."

 

They were approaching their prey. Snow could feel it in her bones. She had been a hunter for so long now that she no longer doubted her instincts. She did not know if she had always been a hunter, if that nature had lain dormant in her as she whiled away her time in the castle, learning to weave and play the harp. She could not tell if it was only when she needed them that those skills had emerged, or whether she had been forced to learn them, dragged down a path of war and strife by the weight of necessity. Whatever the reason, Snow was a hunter now, and she felt the thrill of a chase that had nearly run its course.

She climbed onto the upper deck of her ship, so she could watch the horizon for any sign of the island they were seeking - where the ancient one kept his stronghold.

Regina was already there, eyes scanning the skies. Mal and Lily were up there somewhere, making use of the bright moonlight to scout ahead. She wondered if Regina had fed before Mal left, whether she was standing there warm and sated, or whether she'd be edgy with hunger and need. Snow squared her shoulders and approached her old friend.

Regina glanced at her, her fingers clenched on the railing, bringing her knuckles into sharp relief. Snow tightened her fist on the hilt of her dagger. She remembered a time when things had been easy between her and Regina, when they would have linked their arms and laughed, secure in their friendship. That time had ended when Regina had overthrown the King - Snow's father - and taken control of the kingdom. Snow had fought back of course, and her rebellion may even have been making a difference. But then Regina had been turned, and had grown so brutal in her responses that Snow had despaired of defeating her without turning the kingdom into a wasteland. 

Then Maleficent had come to her, seeking refuge for her unborn child in exchange for her assistance, and Snow had let herself believe they could stop Regina. She had believed it until she had watched Maleficent fall, captured by magic that was obviously of Regina's making, and be dragged away by the wolves.

Snow knew that without the power of the dragon, they were doomed. So she fled her kingdom, taking Maleficent's child with her, as she had promised. Every day since she had planned for Regina's overthrow. When Lily was confident enough in her power, Snow had brought her army back to the kingdom. The years wore heavy on her, and she wanted to see her childhood home again - either in victory, or as the place of her final rest.

Before she attacked the castle, Snow had prepared for Regina's downfall, steeling herself to look on the lifeless body of her friend turned enemy. Then had come the minutes of blind terror, when Lily crashed to the ground and Emma had wailed in such despair it broke her mother's heart. Regina had leapt upon Lily's human body, and Snow knew her daughter would be lost - for Emma was rushing forward with no plan other than to be at Lily's side.

But then Regina had fallen back, her body in obvious distress. Emma raised her sword for the killing blow, only to be thwarted by Maleficent. And Snow had gone from despair to fury to hope in the space of minutes. Because she had seen guilt in Regina's face, and remorse, but most importantly, she had seen the reignited spark of human warmth she had once loved so fiercely.

They’d had no time to spend on reconciliations; they had gone directly from the battlefield to Snow's waiting ships. The people of the White kingdom were wary, not knowing whether to hiss or cheer as her army marched past. Regina rode unfettered besides her, and Maleficent flew overhead; it would not have been clear to the masses if Snow was riding away victorious or in Regina's thrall. And besides, so few of them would remember her now - and if they did recall who she was, and her claim to the throne, even fewer would recognise their young princess in this steely-eyed grim-faced old warrior.

There had not been many opportunities for them to talk on the ship. Regina would come to the captain's cabin, where Snow held her briefings, but she sat on the other end of the room from Snow, always flanked by Maleficent and Red. She spoke seldom, and then only to make suggestions and give tips on the best ways to kill the bloodless ones. Regina was fearless in battle - she went wherever the plans called for, even if it meant risking her own life, even if she was often nearly caught out by the sun. Maleficent would rant and snarl, and Red would fume, and they'd plot between them to keep Regina safe, to bring her back to the ship alive.

When Regina was not in planning meetings, or helping Lily with her magic, or on the shore fighting the bloodless ones, she secluded herself below decks. It was perhaps for the best - many of Snow's soldiers were jumpy around her - but it did mean that Snow hardly ever saw Regina. 

Tonight though, with her every instinct telling her that they were nearly upon their foe, Snow was glad to have a moment alone with Regina.

"We're close," Regina spoke first.

"How do you know?" 

"I can sense him. Feel his..pull."

"You can feel him? Still? I thought you were free of him!"

"I am. But yet...perhaps not entirely. It's strange. Do you know how you sometimes hear a song, even though no one is singing?"

Snow nodded.

"It's like that. I feel him call to me. It's faint, but it's there."

"But you are still free of him? The bindings Lily severed-"

"Are severed still. You can take your hand off your dagger, Snow. I am not about to turn into a ravening monster and rip your throat out."

Snow sighed.

"I am tired, Regina. I am tired of fighting with you."

"Then leave."

"I don't mean this conversation! After. After this is finished, and we have destroyed the Deathless One. I don't want to fight with you any more. Over the crown."

"Ah. You want your throne back."

"It is my birthright. And you stole it from me."

Regina sighed.

"You may have it back, Snow. I have lost my taste for ruling."

"Just like that?"

"I'll put the crown on your head myself, if you like?"

"I don't want it for me, Regina. For Emma. She is the rightful heir to the White Kingdom."

"And she can't wait to be Queen?"

"Emma will do her duty."

"Fine, when this is over, the throne is hers."

"I have to give her something," Snow said abruptly. "After I'm gone, Emma won't have anyone who would crush the heart of someone who hurts her."

"Ah. She told you."

"She did. She did not know what to make of it. I told her that you were always protective of me, when we were younger."

"I was."

"I'm old Regina, and tired. I will be gone soon enough. Lily has Mal. And seemingly, she has you too. Emma won't have that. She will be alone. But at least she will have her kingdom back."

"In lieu of a mother?"

"Not all of us can make ourselves ageless."

Regina frowned at Snow. She weighed her words carefully before she spoke.

"She won't be alone, Snow. She will have my friendship. And whatever protection I can offer her."

"I'm sure she'll be thrilled," Snow said, with some bite to her tone.

Regina snarled. 

"I'm going below."

 

Snow stayed on the deck, watching for returning dragons. It left her with a hollow feeling, this victory of hers. But at least she had fulfilled the promise she had made to her father - that she would reclaim his throne.

She heard Red shift in the shadows behind her.

"Are you not watching over her?"

"The dragon is returning," Red replied with a shrug. "She'll take over."

Snow's face was grim.

"Do you remember, when we were girls together?"

"I do."

"We were friends once, Red. And then you betrayed me. Does loving Regina make everyone blind?"

"I did not betray you."

"You chose to fight for Regina. To help her overthrow my father!"

"He deserved to be deposed."

"How dare you!"

"I don't know what you remember, Snow. But your father was not a good king."

"My father loved his kingdom!"

"Your father nearly bankrupted us! All he cared for were dances and hunts. Regina filled the treasuries again. Made sure commoners didn't starve. And she treated people like me fairly."

"She made your wolves her running dogs!"

"She treated us better than your father did."

"You never wanted for anything!"

"I was your plaything Snow! Your father let me be because I amused you, and my grandmother could pass for human! The rest of my people did not fare so well under Leopold."

"You'd rather see Regina on the throne? Do you really think she makes a good queen?"

"She was! At first. Before this business with the blood and the night. She was harsh, yes. But mostly fair. At least she was thinking of the good of the kingdom."

"Fair?! She tried to kill me!"

"Oh, Snow."

"Don't pretend I am misremembering that! I lost count of how many times she sent her forces against me! How often she tried to kill me."

"And she failed every time."

"Because we escaped! Because-"

"She let you."

"What?!"

"Think, Snow. Do you really believe that if Regina wanted you dead, you wouldn't be? Even when the madness was in her, our orders were always to take you unharmed. To let you go if we could not be sure of it."

"She let me go?"

"Every time."

"She wasn't trying to kill me."

"She didn't want you dead. I think a part of her loved you still."

"Damn her eyes! Do you know how long I have hated her?!"

"Regina would be the first to tell you - she does not begrudge you that."

"Damn her eyes," Snow repeated, quieter. She grinned ruefully at Red.

"It's strange, to hear such steady counsel coming from you. I still think of you as the headstrong young wolf. Perhaps because your face is like looking at a memory."

"One of the effects of being bound to a bloodless one," Red said with a shrug. "The years leave little mark on you. But that has passed. With the breaking of the bindings, I'll age as normal now."

Snow laughed bitterly. "You'll never catch up to me, Red. I'll be gone before I see you old."

"It's not like you to sound so hopeless." The wolf reached out and took her old friend's hand. "There is life in you yet, Snow of the White Kingdom."

Snow made no response, but her fingers tightened over Red's hand.


	4. Chapter 4

The dragons had returned with news. The island they sought was close. Two days more, if the wind held, and they would be in sight of land. But they were not alone in these waters. They had spotted other ships heading towards the island. They had counted at least forty, perhaps more.

"It must be those he has turned," Regina said to Snow and the others.

They were gathered around the table in Snow's cabin - Emma sat besides Snow, Maleficent by Regina; Red and Hua Mulan - the soldier who had given them the information that led them to this island - stood at Regina's back. Lily paced nervously along the cabin wall. 

"Why do you think that?" Emma demanded, leaning forward worriedly. No one wanted to face tens of shiploads of bloodless ones.

"I can feel him," Regina muttered. "It's like a siren song. Calling his thralls home."

"This is not your home," Mal snarled. "You never belonged to him."

"Indeed," Snow said drily, her glance flicking up quickly to Red. "Why would he call them now?"

"He knows he is hunted," Mulan said, her voice crisp and clipped. "He is raising an army."

Snow looked to Regina, who nodded.

"He will have sensed it. I think. I'm not a maker, so I can't be sure. But there is a link between us. If his thralls are destroyed, he may be aware of it."

"And people talk," Red pointed out. "He'd likely have heard of the pack of wolves who are destroying bloodless ones."

"So we are dealing with more than just a single creature," Emma cut in. "We've got hundreds of bloodless to get through before we can reach him?"

"It appears so," Snow said.

Emma nodded. "Okay. I will alert the other captains. Lily, if you and Mal can make a more detailed map, we'll work out the best landing points. Then we can-"

"It's suicide," Regina interrupted. "Going in blind. We don't even know where on the island he is. Or how many bloodless ones you'll have to fight. You can't go in so unprepared, Emma. It's suicide."

"Lily and Mal can scout from the air."

"Not good enough." Regina shook her head. "And if they're seen, any advantage of surprise we may have is lost."

"You have a better idea?" Emma snapped.

Regina smiled coldly.

"I do. As Mulan noticed, I am still a bloodless one. I can land on that island without suspicion."

"No!" Four different voices cried out at the same time.

Regina was not surprised by Mal and Red's objection. But Lily and Snow's took her by surprise. Her voice was gentler when she continued.

"It makes sense. I will be able to blend in. I can reach the Maker more easily than any of us."

"You are not going in there by yourself," Red snarled. "My wolves will go with you." She touched her neck angrily. "We've still got the scars to mark us as yours." 

Regina fixed her eyes on Snow. 

"I must do this."

"No, Regina." Snow shook her head, releasing the last of her hate. "Not alone." She glanced at Maleficent, but though her face was a mask of fury, the dragon remained silent. "Red is right. The wolves can accompany you most safely."

"I don't need-"

"You are not doing this alone, Regina."

"You are not my queen! I don't take orders from you!"

"Why must you be so stubborn! You know you have a better chance of succeeding with the wolves than alone! And isn't that what we all want - to destroy the Deathless One?"

"Fine!" Regina spat. "But not Red! Red stays here. I'll take the others."

"Regina-"

"Enough! I've told you how it will be." 

She pushed back from the table and stormed out of the cabin. Maleficent followed, stopped her in the corridor before she could disappear into her room.

"Turn me."

"Are you mad?"

"Turn me, Regina. The wolves are strong. But I am stronger. I will go with you."

"Mal. No."

"I will follow you regardless. I'll be safer if they think I am your creature."

"I won't do that to you."

"When we destroy the Deathless One, I will be freed."

"And if we fail?"

"Then we'll both be dead, and it won't matter what I am."

"Mal."

"A dragon's love is true, Regina. You must know what that means. Turn me. Please. Give us that chance at least."

"Lily-"

"Will live to avenge us."

"She's just found you."

"Then help me come back to her."

"Oh. You are unfair."

"Yes. I want to win. Turn me."

Regina kissed her, fiercely, her cheeks wet with tears.

 

Regina led them to Maleficent’s cabin. Mal took her accustomed position, sitting on the bed and tilting her head back, giving her throat to Regina. She felt the brush of Regina's thumb against her skin, at the spot where her fangs would pierce her flesh. She stiffened, willing herself to not cry out or fight back.

Regina's fangs descended, and she bit.

Mal gasped. 

This was different than a simple feeding. It was different also than being bound by her blood. She felt herself change, felt the burning rush through her body, like her veins were suddenly filled with fire. She wanted to gag, to howl, to strike out; but she couldn't - she was transfixed, helpless as the fibre of her being was stretched and twisted and reformed.

When it was over, she was weak, barely able to lift her head. Regina held her.

"You must feed."

Her words seemed to give Mal's hunger life.

She knew it was Red who offered her throat, but it wouldn't have mattered who she fed from. All that mattered was that she had to slake her thirst, fill her belly, feed the hunger before it drove her mad.

Regina's hand was on her shoulder, her voice in her ear.

"Enough."

Mal stopped feeding, unable to do anything but obey that voice.

"Regina," her whisper was sorrow-filled and remorseful. She hadn't truly understood until this moment just how hard Regina must have fought to retain the spark of herself. How much she must have hated what she had become.

Red stood shivering before them. Regina healed the still-wet bite in her throat.

"Go. Eat. Rest,” Regina said to her Captain. “We'll leave at moonrise."

Red nodded to Regina, then clasped Mal's hand. Her eyes were clear. "We'll get her through this," she told her.

Regina took Mal to bed, wrapping the shivering dragon in her arms.

"I can't get warm," Mal whispered.

"You'll get used to it. I'd let you feed from me, but I fear it would break the binding. I'm sorry, my love."

"It's all right. I'll be fine."

"You will," Regina agreed. "You will stay here, in this cabin."

"Regina?" Already she could feel the compunction settle in her mind. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping you safe. You will not follow me, Maleficent. Your maker orders it."

 

Ten wolves accompanied her; they were not in their wolf form, and with a glamour on them to mask their scent, they passed for human.

"A walking larder," Regina said dismissively to the soldiers who greeted them at the pier. 

The soldiers bowed and let her pass. She was dressed as a queen, but even if she had only been wearing the meanest of rags, her bearing and haughtiness would have been intimidation enough.

The moon had long passed its zenith when Regina was brought before the Deathless One. He was waiting for her under the open sky, lit by firelight, surrounded by elegantly dressed men and women, with armed guards in attendance. 

He was exactly as she remembered him, when she had met him at a gala event she'd been attending in a neighbouring kingdom. He had been known then as Pan, a favourite of the court, the King's squire. He had seemed a fresh-faced young man, who bowed and spoke with the prettiest of manners. She had been quite taken with him, thinking him a talented youth and amusing company. 

With her guard lowered, she had been insultingly easy prey when he revealed his true nature. He had swept through the King's court, feeding on knights and maidens. He had originally planned to turn the King, but he found Regina far more fascinating. Her appetite for power almost rivaled his own hunger. So he turned her instead, drawing her in with the promise of a new magic and dark power that would make her invincible. Regina had realised too late what accepting his offer meant - how it would alter her, how the hunger would gnaw away at her very essence. (That there was anything left of her for Mal and Lily to save was a testament to how hard she had fought what had been done to her. But Regina did not realise this.)

She faced him now, forcing herself to kneel and offer her throat, waiting for him to draw closer to take her tribute.

"Ah, my little queen," he said in his light, melodious voice. "How have you fared? I feared you amongst the lost ones."

"No, my lord," Regina responded. "There were some rabble that attempted to stop me, but I defeated them easily enough."

He came a few steps closer.

"Rabble? Do you mean wolves?"

"Why do you-"

"Did you really think I would not recognise their stench as soon as you made landfall? I am disappointed that you would underestimate me so."

Regina turned to see her escort being dragged in. The glamour she had put over them still held, but their wrists and feet were bound with fine silver mesh, rendering them helpless.

"Is this all you brought against me, Regina?" He really did sound disappointed. 

He moved so quickly that between one blink and the next he was by her side, grabbing hold of her hair and twisting her head to expose her neck to him. Regina heard Red howl. She heard the Deathless One's fangs descend. In the distance, she heard the sudden clash of weapons and the scream of a dragon at hunt. The ancient one was distracted for a vital moment.

It may have been a waning crescent, but it was still a moon that shone overhead. And Regina still drew power from the moon. She cast the spell that would release the wolf form - and as her escorts' bodies grew, the fine silver mesh that bound them snapped and tore. The wolves ripped away the shreds with their mouths, ignoring the bite and burn of the silver. Then they leapt towards Regina. 

Regina felt Pan's fangs pierce her flesh. He was trying to bind her again. But Regina had been feeding on the blood of a dragon that loved her for so long, she was inoculated against the Deathless One's bite. She felt her magic leap to her hands, forming an incandescent ball of heat that flared from her, sending him crashing backwards.

Red was by her side, growling through bared teeth.

"Don't go near him!" Regina cried. He still had power, and she did not want Red falling prey to his bite. "Leave him to me. Go, help the others!"

The sounds of battle were drawing closer, and the guards and thralls who were not fighting the wolves were running towards whoever was attacking.

The Deathless One was on his feet, but before he could strike or call his thralls back to him, Regina's magic had hold of him. She had been planning this spell for weeks; it was a binding spell, like the one she had used to drag Maleficent and Lily from the sky. Powerful enough to hold a dragon, it only just contained the Deathless One. He snarled and twisted under the grip of her spell, pulling against the restraint. Regina groaned as she felt the drag on her power.

Fire would not kill him, only char his clothes and cause him discomfort. And a sword or axe would only break against his skin. She would have to hold him here till sunrise. She gritted her teeth and prayed her power would hold out.

The battle reached them - the outliers first - the rest of the wolves; Emma, wearing a cloak that glittered in the firelight as her sword cut through the guards; and Lily. Her daughter was in dragon form, and she was doing so well that Regina felt her heart swell with pride. All of Mal's lessons were paying off now, as Lily banked and rolled and flamed in precise bursts. 

Lily was the first to spot her, and she came to earth with a heavy thump, transforming as soon as she was safely on the ground. Emma followed close behind; she had seen Lily land and had rushed across to her.

“Regina?”

Regina was in some distress. She could feel her power draining from her. The Deathless One thrashed and howled in her hold, his movements growing slowly more unrestrained. He would break free soon, and she had no other plan to contain him. Her last, desperate, hope would be to attempt to bind him, to make him her thrall. But if she failed, he would be free and furious. She would have doomed them all.

"I can't hold him," Regina gasped.

"What can I do?" Lily asked.

She wanted to say, ‘Bring me your mother.’ But there wasn't time. She didn't know how far away Mal was. And they had so many foes to fight, they would need Mal's power and strength. Lily would be missed less than Mal on this battlefield.

"How fast can you fly? I need to chase the sun."

Lily stiffened. 

"I'm fast enough. But you - you can't-"

"There's no time," Regina said urgently. "I can't hold him! Transform. Now!"

As Lily underwent her transformation, Emma stepped forward, unbuckling her cloak.

"I'm sorry," Regina whispered. "Tell your mother, I would have kept my promise."

Emma nodded. She draped her cloak around Regina's shoulders.

"It's spun with silver thread," she said. "Made for fighting against your wolves. It may give you some protection - from the sun."

Regina smiled.

There was no time for further niceties, for pointing out how like a young Snow Emma was - still hopeful to the end. Lily was waiting. Regina transported to her back, bringing the Deathless One with her.

He was snarling and gnashing his fangs as he twisted, trying to wrench free from her spell. He swore, using languages so ancient Regina had no idea what he was saying; but the hate and fury in his eyes made his intent clear enough.

"Go!" Regina cried, and Lily leapt into air.

She felt the dragon's powerful muscles move beneath her. Lily was straining, pushing her body to its limits, fighting to bring them to the sun before the Deathless One broke free.

Lily took them so high that the air was almost too thin to breathe, and it was so cold, Regina was glad for Emma's cloak. She could see ice frosting along Lily's wings, cracking with each powerful beat. They were high enough that in the distance, Regina could see the faint band of light that marked the rising sun.

The Deathless One stopped swearing.

"Release me, my queen," he said, his voice plaintive. "And I will give you such power. You will rule at my side. We will take over this world, and any other worlds you fancy."

"I've had a taste of your power, and of ruling, and I want no more of either."

"This won't work," he howled. "And when I am free, oh I will make you pay, Regina. Your torment will be a thing of legend!"

He thrashed against her spell, and she felt the sweat spring out on her brow with the effort of keeping her binding intact. She ached everywhere, the power bleeding out of her, needing to draw on every reserve of energy she had to keep the magic working.

"You don't scare me," she snarled.

And then they were in the light of the sun.

Surprisingly, Emma's cloak did turn back some of the light; the sun reflected off the silver thread, making the material sparkle.

The Deathless One had no such barrier. Wherever the sunlight struck his body, he burned. The skin and flesh sloughed off him in a dark ash. He howled and screamed and thrashed, but Regina held him firm, sobbing with the effort. She put everything she had into keeping the spell intact, leaving nothing for her own protection. Emma's cloak could only do so much. And Regina burned too. The final thing she saw, before she fell into blackness, was the Deathless One disintegrating into a cloud of dark powder.

 

Regina stirred and groaned. She heard Lily's voice.

"Mother?"

Regina blinked her eyes open and looked around blearily.

"Mal?"

Regina's surroundings came into focus - she was under some sort of canvas tent, leaving her in a cool band of shade; she was lying on a stretch of ground spongy with moss and leaves. Lily's face appeared above her. She had been crying; her cheeks were still damp and her eyes red.

"Mal's here?" Regina tried again, her voice thick.

"No. Just you and me."

"But you said-"

"Mother."

"Oh. You know?"

"I'm not foolish. It was pretty obvious."

"What happened. With the Deathless One?"

"Not so deathless anymore," her voice was grim but satisfied. "He's gone." 

Lily spoke truth; the gnawing hunger that had been Regina’s constant companion for decades now had finally gone silent.

Regina struggled to sit up, and Lily moved to help her.

"You've been crying." 

She dared to brush her fingers along Lily's cheek. Her daughter sniffled, and Regina struggled against the urge to put her arms around her.

"I thought you were dead. I thought it was too late."

"You wept for me?" 

She sounded incredulous and Lily frowned.

"Of course. I...you're my mother."

"How exactly did you work that out?"

"I told you, it was obvious. Mother would never answer me when I asked her about my father. 'It's not my story to tell' was all she'd say. She was protecting someone. And the only one she loves enough to do that is you."

"That's hardly-"

"And then there's the small matter of my blood breaking your bindings. That had to mean something. I put two and two together."

"You are wise," Regina smiled.

"Were you ashamed? Is that why you didn't want me to know?"

"Oh Lily, no. Not ashamed. Not of you. Never of you."

"Then why?"

"You deserve a mother you can respect. And look up to. Snow was that to you. And Mal will be that too."

"I was raised to hate you," Lily said angrily. "All my life - hate the Bloodless One. Destroy the Evil Queen. Then I met you. And you - you were nothing like I expected! You are strong, and powerful, and brave. And I can see why my mother loves you."

"I was evil, and cruel, and mad for power."

"That's not what I see when I look at you now."

Regina laughed, a harsh sound.

"You deserve a better mother."

"Well, you're one of the ones I have. And I'm glad you didn't burn to death. Although, I'm sorry, I wasn't able to heal you very well."

Regina looked ruefully at her burns - bright red marks that covered her body and throbbed with pain. But she could move, and her skin did not tear or break when she did so.

“We can add it to your lessons,” she said to Lily. “But you did well enough.” She concentrated for a moment, and sighed. “I’m still weakened. Healing me completely will have to wait till we get back to the ship."

Lily nodded, and Regina reached up to pat her cheek. Lily leaned in to her touch, and Regina smiled softly, then squared her shoulders; there would be time for comfort later.

"We should go,” Regina said. “See how the others are faring. Though with the Deathless One gone, the other turned ones should be free."

"Are you safe, in the sun?"

"Only one way to know."

She struggled to her feet and hobbled to the tent flap. The tent was made from one of their ship sails. Lily must have called it to her, using her magic, to make a shelter to protect Regina from the sun. But she should be able to be in the sun now. Perhaps.

Regina struck her arm out into a sparkling beam of light. She gasped as the warmth struck her, and Lily made a concerned sound.

"No. It's all right. I'm not burning. It's just - my body has forgotten what the sun feels like."

They stood there for a few minutes, giving Regina a chance to adjust to the warmth and the brightness.

"Are you ready? Shall I transform?"

"I am ready. But we don't need the dragon. You can bring us back to the island with a spell."

"Of course. I didn't even think of using magic," Lily sounded despondent.

"Magic is still new to you," Regina told her gently. "You'll learn."

"You'll teach me?"

"I will."

 

The battle was over by the time they got back. When the Deathless One had crumbled to dust, so had his power and hold over the ones he had turned. Regina and Lily returned to find Snow's forces setting up healing tents and organising food lines, helping confused and terrified people who wandered in a daze, as though they were waking from a long nightmare. There was a lot of quiet sobbing in the healing tents that had nothing to do with the injuries people had sustained.

They sought out the others - Lily eagerly calling Emma's name, Regina simply looking for Mal. It did not take the dragon long to notice her and come to her side.

"You're hurt."

"I tried to heal her," Lily said quickly. "But my healing spells are not very good."

"I can take care of that."

Mal's voice was neutral, and Regina searched her face for some indication of what she was feeling.

"Not that you deserve it. You tricked me."

Regina sighed. "I wasn't about to risk your life, Mal. Do you still hunger?"

"No, that faded. I'm assuming when you destroyed the Deathless One."

"Red? Snow?" 

"Uninjured. Mostly. Red and some of the wolves have silver-burns. They are being treated. Speaking of which -" She transported them both away - back to the ship and her cabin - "We really should look at _your_ burns."

Mal went to work on Regina's injuries, soothing the pain and speeding up the growth of new skin. It itched, and Regina shifted in discomfort under Mal's ministrations.

For distraction, she said, "Lily knows. That I'm her mother."

"I'm not surprised. She is the one who found me, here, turned and unable to leave. If I hadn't fed on her, and broken your bindings, I'd be here still."

"I was assuming you'd try something like that. I didn't intend for you to be my thrall forever!"

"You took Red with you instead of me," Mal said grumpily. 

"Because it would have hurt less to lose her!"

"Why didn't you let me feed on you?"

"Why does it matter?"

"You said you feared it'd break the binding. You called me your love."

"Mal-"

"The truth please, Regina. No more trickery."

Regina sighed. "True love broke my bindings before. I didn't want to risk it happening again."

"So, you love me." Mal's smile was smug.

"I suppose."

Mal laughed. "And you no longer need to feed on me?"

"No. The hunger is gone. Although I don't know what effect your blood will have had on me."

Mal shrugged. "We can worry about that later. We have a lot of other things to take care of first."

Regina nodded. "We should go back to the island. I want to see Red, make sure she and her wolves are healing. Then Snow and I will have to meet to negotiate the hand over of the throne. I'm not sure Emma is ready for ruling the White Kingdom, but I did promise her mother."

Mal nodded. "But before we do all that." She took Regina's hand and led her up to the deck. Took her to the place where they would stand in the moonlight and watch the dark waves. The sun was shining now and the waters were blue and green and Regina's skin was warm under Mal's hand.

There would be a lot for them all to do. Ridding the world of an ancient evil was only just the beginning. There were hundreds of people he had affected who would need their help. They had a daughter to learn to be a family with, and the fate of a kingdom to decide. There were friendships, old and new, to mend and build, and forgiveness to be given and accepted. But first they would pause, if only for a moment, to savour their victory.

Mal put her arms around Regina, drew her close. She could feel Regina’s heart, beating wild and free against her breast; and Maleficent smiled and kissed her under the light of the sun.


End file.
